Colour theming for seasonal interest. Blog 17.October 2008.

It is definitely an art to create a harmonious effect, Grenville. I know that I am often guilty of buying a plant on impulse and then thinking where to put it, without planning first. However, there are also times when serendipity intervenes - as last year when my Nigella seeded itself into a palest pink patch of single Dianthus (silver leaves). That was Nature at its best. I do plan areas and colour-theme when I can, though, as you know! Sometimes, the best-laid plans go wrong - as when the tulips I bought as dark purple flowered bright red!!!!

I like this blog. I realise colours are personal choice, but can you please comment further on blues and yellows together - a bit like your top photo.

For instance, Ceanothus Zanzibar has yellowy-green leaves with blue flowers, and it's said that people either love it or hate it.

Any tips for when using blues and yellows near each other, please ?

As you know, I go back to study some of your older photos. Now some of the designs are even more fascinating due to this blog. :o)

Interesting you have mentioned nature doing its own thing Spritz.
You added your comment before I had finished checking and adding the final details to the Blog.

I've mentioned that colour theming is not always about imposing or contriving colour combinations, as nature does a great job as well if its left to its own devices.
You must have been reading my thoughts as I was writing it!

Thanks T.T
Yellow and blue are an interesting and lovely colour combination, particularly if the yellows and blues are of similar shades and colour intensity.Also a border with shades of pale lemon through to deep gold with spikes of pale blue and dark blue can look stunning.Equally, dark and pale blues and yellows look stunning together. Blue being cool and yellow being warm relate so well together.The combinations are limitless, and very exciting.
We often collect paint colour chart samples from D.I.Y stores, and use them to create colour combiantions and contrasts for our planting colour themes, as well as using a colour wheel.. We like to have 'zingy' contrasts of colour as well e.g purple and orange with brown or chocolate foliage for height and structure.

I want to try an area next year using silver, pale blue and chocolate all combined together!
This is why we admire the work of the late Christopher Lloyd.
Also orange and chocolate is another colour combination I want to try at some point!
Sounds good enough to eat!

TT, an interesting point - nature (or a breeder) has made some odd colour combinations on plants. There's a Fuchsia with yellow leaves and bright pink flowers - and I hate the look of it! Hywel may know its name.
Grenville, would you call my purple, gold and white border 'zingy'?

Yes, I love clashing colour combos (as well as books from Christopher Lloyd see also Sarah Raven's "Bold and Brilliant Garden"). I particularly like using palest yellows with dark purple/deep red - such as dark leaved cotinus with pale yellow azaleas in spring and followed by yellow lilies in summer. Strong, hot pinks with orange - sounds awful but looks fantastic.

TT, I have never seen that Ceonothus - will go and Google it now. I am also very fond of blues and yellows together - try some of those beautiful perennial geranium such as Rozanne (still flowering in my garden now!) mixed with yellow lilies - the geranium creates a froth of low growing blue with the lilies rising up above, like the sun above the sea. And spring time is great for such experiments - blue forget me nots with yellow tulips, or grape hyacinths and yellow tulips..the possibilities are endless.

The only colour combo that I am not especailly keen on is yellow and pink - but then again, some old-fashioned climbing roses twining together in those colours can look wonderful - its all to do with the shades of colour I think.

P.S. Just noticed Spritz's note about the Fuschia after I posted - it sounds VILE.

Thanks Grenville and Spritz.
A lot of food for thought here -
especially now that G. says it sounds good enough to eat. :o)

Clairefifi ~
I have Ceanothus Zanzibar.
It's a really interesting colour combination, but needs thought to site it in the right place. :o)

Your gold purple and white border is 'delicious' Spritz. This may sound strange, but certain plant colour combinations can only be described with the adjectives that we use to describe food, and I think your border is delicious as well as being stunning.
As I previously mentioned,I want to try orange and chocolate next year, and I instantly think of those delicious segmented chocolate confections when I think about that particular colour combination!!

I use the chocolate plant in our garden and it works very well with most colours, and of course it smells delecious..

Grenville, you are amazing! You have just written about everything that's going through my head right now with plans for our new "themed" garden. In fact, there is a certain "colour" mentioned several times here, which is a central player! You explain it all so well, and the pics are stunning!

Grenville ~
Looking forward to your tasty orange-and-chocolate treats next year. Paraphrasing the Terry's advert, your visitors will be saying: They're not Grenville's, they're mine !

You mentioned the colour wheel. I'm guessing some GoY members would appreciate more info. and guidance on these. I would certainly be interested, please.

I looked up colour wheels on Wikipedia. All kinds of wheel going back to the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. Would it please be possible to summarise the colour wheel and ways to use it into a short blog? If you have time in the winter, please have a try. Thank you.

You mention nature doing its own thing with colour combinations. Another example where we could take inspiration is bird feathers. My budgie is mainly green, but he has yellows and some turquoise/blue feathers of exactly the right shades to blend in. Imagine making a border based on the colours of your budgerigar !

Spritz ~ on the Ceanothus subject ~ recently in another thread, you mention that they are not long-lived. I've planted several of these around my garden. Can you please give any sort of guesstimate of their life-span? 5,10,15 years? Thanks.

The Ceanothus that half-died (leaving a healthy half) must have been at least 15-20 years old, TT. It stretched about 12' along the border and upwards about 8'. This is the C.thyrsiflorus repens one - it isn't supposed to grow that big! I have another Ceanothus in another border that flowers early, it was also planted by our predecessors and is a bit scraggy now, but again it is well over 15 years old. I planted a new one last year - I wonder how long that will last?

TT - Andrew wrote a blog about colour theory some time ago - check it out - it was very interesting. Now, come on, I am dying to see some photos of your garden. Why haven't you posted any?

Grenville, you have added more lovely photos since I commented on the blog - thanks. I was also going to ask you if you would kindly do a supplementary blog with photos of the different colour schemes you mentioned - that is if you have any photos! Thanks for the edible comment on my border!

Sorry Spritz I'm not able to produce much in the way of photos right now. Hoping to get that sorted soon. My garden is very much a spring garden, so once this sunny spell is over and we're all spending more hours indoors, I'll look out a photo of my gardens with a springtime theme.

Thanks for the ceanothus info. I'll also take a look later at Andrewr's blog about colour theory. Thank you. :o)

I've just looked at Andrewr's blog as recommended by Spritz.
Very useful and informative.
Anyone else wanting to find it, the title is Colour Theory dated 5th July 2008.

... and, according to Popeymike, colour wheels can be picked up at the decorating section of B & Q !
:o)

I've been away for a few days so thanks to spritz for mentioning my blog on colour theory in my absence.

TT - I've put together a border in blue, yellow AND white (I posted a picture of it with a tag of 'July' if you want to check it out).

I've also done a border with cream, yellow and orange with brown grasses (very complimentary) and another with scarlet and white (contrasts).

Clairefifi - the painter Monet was very keen on putting pink and yellow together and did it a lot in his garden - have you ever been there?

Grenville - thanks for another interesting blog that has already generated a lot of comments

Andrewr ~
Thanks for the info.
I'll follow it up.

Andrewr ~
Thanks. I was able to find your 'July' section. This colour subject is fascinating.

Re. the question about where are my garden photos, I checked my pictures. There are some of my garden :
my raised bed, and others of my lawn area. Maybe these don't look like my garden, but I promise you that's it !

Yesterday I uploaded a photo of my Welsh Terrier in my front garden in spring time. My aim was to get a good variety of aubrieta colours, mixed in with other rockery plants. Not a large scale project, but I was pleased with the result. :o)